A Mermaid's Tale
by YaoiIsLove
Summary: One vacation suggested by Rachel, finds Kurt in the middle of something he never expected. Mermaids, a battle for the throne of Atlantis, betrayal, love? It was a fine way to end his summer vacation, if he came out alive.


Title: A Mermaid's Tale

Rating: T

Pairing: Klaine with small mentions of others.

Word Count: 19,000~

Summary: One vacation suggested by Rachel, finds Kurt in the middle of something he never expected. Mermaids, a battle for the throne of Atlantis, betrayal, love? It was a fine way to end his summer vacation, if he came out alive.

Disclaimer: As per usual. I do not own Glee, or any of it's characters. Gratuitous

Authors Note: Well, yeah, I decided to write this thanks to the lovely art by lylith_st so this is dedicated to her. I've seen many The Little Mermaid fics so I decided to go with something a bit different and long winded but I hope everyone will enjoy this epically long fic. Oh and the song they sing later in this fic is a Japanese song (I used the English translation in this story) that can be found on youtube. It's a very beautiful song, that always brings tears to my eyes. Anyways, on to the epically long mermaid fic, and I hope you all enjoy. Thank you for your time. ^_^

A Mermaid's Tale

Did you ever feel like you didn't belong somewhere? Like you were above the normal? Kurt was that on many levels but he meant beyond those levels. Like there was just something that seemed so very off. Obviously he was the best dressed male in Lima, Ohio and he had far more talent than any simpleton in this town, but it just didn't seem like enough. It seemed like there was something more. Ever since his mother passed away 8 years ago on the coast, his father had refused to go near the water. They had been living in Florida, and despite the humidity that was ungodly at times, Florida was a wonderful place to live. They'd gone down to the ocean and it was a beautiful sunny day. Kurt's mother had taken him out into the tides to play when a rip current pulled them both under. Burt immediately was able to grab Kurt and pull him back but his mom was taken away. They closed down the beach and searched for her, they even sent divers down to recover her body in the depths but they couldn't find her. She was gone, and when they thought he wasn't listening they told Burt there was a good chance the body could have been found by sharks. Kurt wanted to tell them off but he kept to himself. Up until the day they moved from that place he would go out to the beach and stare out into the ocean expecting to see her again. He expected her to just pop out of the water and say 'it was all a prank, I'm here Kurty' like she always did, but she never appeared and soon he lost hope.

One would think after such a horrific experience Kurt would want to stay away from the ocean. On the contrary, when Rachel suggested New Directions take a trip to Myrtle Beach, South Carolina he jumped on the chance to go. It stunned his friends, to be sure, but the ocean was the ocean. No matter how many horribly dressed, sun burned red-necks would be walking around. At least Kurt could reiterate and possibly educate more people on the proper ways of fashion. A t-shirt with 'surfer dude' on the front was NOT considered a dress by any means. Rachel's father owned a property in the vicinity so room and board was no issue. It seemed like a relatively random location, but an escape from the mundane rituals of high school was an escape. An escape from those Neanderthals was a welcome invitation. The only thing not welcomed was the 'Very Brady' plane ride that seemed to happen once Rachel found a good song. When Kurt says 'Very Brady' he meant the whole gig with dancing, singing, and attempting to get the other passengers to join in. This was when he decisively put in his earphones. Not that he was going to admit it out loud but he really hated planes. He was meant to be on land or in water, not in the sky. It is what it is.

Once they landed and found their way to Rachel's dads house they changed for a bit of exploring on the boardwalk. Unlike his fellow classmates of New Directions who donned swimsuits and tacky sundresses Kurt actually dressed fashionably. He would not be caught dead in those polyester nightmares they called swim trucks. Instead he donned a pair of knee length khaki shorts with a form-fitting tank top and a blue vest over that. Kurt was not ignorant, the heat would be killer so best to dress sensibly and the blue of the vest would really make him pop in the crowd. Oh holy night! Kurt thought HE was going to pop but no, only Rachel Berry would wear that hideous monstrosity with the ruffle bikini top and dolphin bows. Note made to burn that later. With his Chanel sunglasses in place he hooked arms with Quinn and Brittany-they caught him first-and took off to the boardwalk. Kurt should have known what would be spotted first. At of all the shops this one made everyone stop and either giggle or outright laugh. Brittany merely hugged his arm tighter and said she had the best gay dolphin around. No gift store could outshine Kurt Hummel, and he had to agree. He was almost terrified to walk into a store called 'The Gay Dolphin' and he would avoid it like the plague if need be. This, however, did not stop Santana for making countless jokes about it.

They took off after that, strutting across the boardwalk past the multiple henna shops and bars. Seriously, how many bars and henna parlors did one boardwalk need? It was ridiculous. They passed by Ripley's Believe it or not before it came into sight. The ocean and all it's seemingly never-ending glory. If Kurt was a lesser person he would have cheered and ran to it.

"Last one to the ocean loses their boxers," Finn yelled. Like that, Kurt sighed. Sure enough the other men took off after him with Puck pushing Artie, and they wondered why they weren't attractive. Kurt and the girls followed at a slower pace, Brittany pointing out the planes flying out overhead with their super big kites. She asked in all that innocence of hers how they managed to get those in the sky. Kurt gently explained to her they were planes advertising stores, TV shows, and the likes. She turned to him and asked, "But the planes are so small, don't the kites eat them?" Sweet innocent thing, isn't she?

They descended those poorly constructed steps, stepping out onto hot sand. Ahead Puck was already ducking Finn in the water and the other guys were being guys, splashing and rough housing. Artie lay on the beach, watching and building a sand castle. Brittany rushed over to help him, launching into how she can make the perfect mermaid palace. Artie shot them a helpless look to say 'not again', they just had reinforced her belief in Santa six months ago, not this again. They could not go through this again.

Mercedes took Kurt's now open arm. "Come on, white boy, it may be salt water but I read somewhere this stuff is actually good for the skin."

"You're actually right Merce. Some theories go that the salt water helps eliminate those toxins in open pores. I am not against experimental skin care in the least." Kurt removed his vest and tank top, asking Quinn to take care of them for him. Quinn, still self-conscious of her stretch marks, was choosing to stay full clothed. Kurt's khakis were not ideal swimwear but they were also not that expensive so wetting them slightly would not hurt them. Toeing off his shoes he bid the other girls good-bye and walked towards the water with Mercedes. The surf was small and the rip currents minimal which was a very good thing. Mercedes waded out, turning her back to the waves with a laugh. Kurt smiled at her before diving head first under the water and swimming out a bit. He couldn't explain it but the moment he went under he felt so alive, so comfortable. He flew through the water, breathing it in as if it were air, spinning as if he were a fish. At one point he even laid back and just kicked his feet moving against the currents, it felt so wonderful, almost like he was meant to be in the water. When he felt as if he'd been under long enough, not even out of breath, he emerged from the water tossing his hair back as if he was Ariel herself. It took a second for his eyes to focus but the moment they did he was forced back under by a wave. This time he actually spluttered and shot for the surface. Whistles were blowing from the shore and faintly he heard shouts. Kurt spun around, eyes nearly bugging out of his head. There was no way he had swam out this far. He was a good ten feet past the buoy that marked the safe swim line. To his left he could see one of those pier restaurants, and he was far past that as well. He was to far out into the ocean to be safe, now he was panicking, even as the lifeguards jumped into the water.

Another wave forced him under, this time he went into full panic mood as he saw something shoot past him in the dark depths. It was huge, moving to irregularly to be a dolphin, it moved like a serpent or abnormally large fish. Oh god, he was going to die, wasn't he? One little cut and a drop of blood and he'd be done for.

"Hey, you, would you stop kicking around!"

Kurt spun around, having heard a voice yelling at him.

"Thanks! Now it's completely gone, wonderful, because those seashells didn't take me days to collect."

Where was that voice coming from? Suddenly a rainbow fish popped up in front of he, he swore to god it was glaring at him. It looked to be a primarily yellow fish and it scales almost seemed to glitter.

It poked out a fin to push his shoulder. "You ruined my cozy little sand palace. I only come up one month out of every year to collect sparkly human junk. I need my house and now you've ruined it. It's gone."

A fish is talking to him. A fish is talking! To him! Oh god this had to be a dream! Fish don't talk.

"Are you going to help me fix it or not?"

Kurt shook his head and took off, not really knowing where he was going or what direction. He just knew he was pushing water back with his arms and propelling himself forward. Kurt didn't really care where he went as long as it was towards shore.

"HEY! Don't go that way," the fish, rather, imagination yelled. "Trigger's domain is that way. You cross into there you are free game and he's been testier than usual since Portia came around." Kurt kept swimming, he just had to. "You're brave wanting to take on a tiger shark. Sharks aren't my thing, I avoid them at all costs."

Shark? Did his imagination say shark? He started struggling trying to perform a 180 only to find himself in a strangled gasp. Suddenly it felt as if his lungs were closing, no air was getting to him anymore. He was undeniably drowning. Kurt gargled for breath, trying to fight past his tangle of limbs to get back to the surface. It was to far, he was falling deeper down. The imagination shot over to him, bouncing on his chest.

"Stupid! Breathe! Don't choke! Breathe!"

Breathe? How can he breathe where this is no oxygen? The water was getting heavier as he sank further down. His head felt light and he knew he was drowning. Kurt blinked his eyes, falling still in surrender.

"-aine…chocking…" Was the imagination still talking? What was that gripping his arm now? Was his body moving? Kurt's brain was shutting down from lack of oxygen, he didn't know what was going on anymore. "-uman?" the imagination yelled. He was truly starting to fall out of it now, no more. It was time to sleep. Sleep was good for the skin. With that his eyes closed and he gave into the dream.

-o-o-o-

A mouth. Hot air. Hard pumps. "Come on, kid, breathe!" Why did everyone keep telling him to breathe? The mouth touched Kurt's again, hot air being forced into his body.

"Come on, Kurt, please don't die," he faintly heard Mercedes plead.

"Kurt, your dad will kill me when he trusted me to protect you," Finn shouted. "So wake up! Right now!"

"Kurtie, whose soft baby hands will I hold? Whose going to be my gay shark?" Brittany called through obvious tears. He wished they'd be quiet, they were more dramatic then those telenovelas that were Kurt's guilty pleasure. The mouth descended again, forcing more breath into his body, this time when the hard pumps to his chest came he couldn't stop the hacking cough and lunge forward, spluttering out water. Finn was surprisingly the first person to grab him, followed by Rachel who had pushed Mercedes, then Brittany, then Mercedes and then the rest of the glee club.

"He's okay!" the lifeguard yelled, a round of applause breaking out. Following the round of applause a woman holding a channel 4 news microphone pushed through the crowd. Her suit was most definitely JCPenny, so much so it made me want throw seaweed on her.

"This is Cheryl Growburg with Wktz4 news. We come to you live with a breaking news story, a day of fun at the beach turns into horror when a friend goes missing. Jumping in waves, splashing each other, all fun and games until the rip currents grab hold. Just over two hours was young Kurt Hummel here lost out in the ocean, pulled by currents. They feared the worse, even considering making plans to start a search for the body that would undoubtedly turn up. But unlike most tragic current tales this one has a happy ending. Young Kurt here was miraculously found just 11 feet from the show line, having been brought back by waves. After 15 minutes of CPR he sits here now, cold, wet, but very much alive. How do you feel?" she rambled then ask, shoving the microphone in Kurt's face. With the usual swipe back of his bangs he shook his head in a 'no comment' manner. He didn't feel like talking for once. Really he just wanted a nice hot bath, some herbal tea, and a comforting bed with goose feather pillows.

Puck was Kurt's saving grace as he told the lady to back off, wrapping a towel around his friend's shoulders. As if they were the secret service they huddled him back up to the boardwalk, across the street and to the parking lot where Rachel's dad was waiting to pick them up. The adult rushed out, helping them into the large minivan. It was a tight squeeze but he was eager to get out before he had to mow down news crews. That would not be pleasant. Funny, but not at all pleasant.

When they returned to the home Kurt requested that Mercedes unpack his pillows for him-he always brought his own. While the Berrys graciously allowed Kurt to use the master bathroom with it's spa tub considering the trauma he had just experienced. Mike, being the only one really comfortable around naked Kurt, helped him make a bath and climb in. Kurt was grateful that Mike wasn't at all bothered by seeing the gay kid naked; most footballers were as if there was something vastly different on a homosexual male's body. Mike laughed when Kurt voiced this, shrugging. "A guy is a guy, I see them naked all the time. Locker rooms, you get use to it." He left the bathroom closing the door after giving him a gentle smile. Kurt heard him walk downstairs before his voice traveled through the air vent.

"Dude, there are marks on Kurt. Like hand marks."

Kurt looked down at my body, noticing the welts on his arm made from a tight grip. Upon further inspection he also saw a similar mark on his left hip. Had something grabbed a hold of him? A lifeguard maybe?

"I saw those too," Quinn pitched in. "I thought it might have been the lifeguards at first but they're…"

"They're to dark to been made by the lifeguards," Mike agreed.

"MERMAIDS!" Brittany gasped. "A mermaid saved Kurt and brought him to shore.

A mermaid? He had to scoff, but at the same time his brain whirled. Mermaids were half human and half fish, that meant they were human but they were able to breath under water. They had tails of a fish, which meant their swimming patterns were irregular and what is he thinking? There's no such things as mermaids, they're about as real as Santa Claus or the tooth fairy.

Turning off the water with his foot Kurt looked at the dirtying water with a cringe of disgust. He shook his head before taking a deep breath, he had seriously gone mad. Slowly Kurt lowered under the water and lay there, counting. After 60 seconds he began to slowly blow out, letting the bubbles rise. Another 60 seconds past, he felt nothing not even an inkling of burning. Another 60 seconds, the only thing he felt was how disgusting this water was becoming. 60 more seconds later he realized that his hair would need a deep conditioning because that salt water, while good for the pores, did nothing for the scalp. 35 seconds later he heard the door creak open, 10 seconds later he was staring at the stunned face of Mike Chang who pulled him out of the tub. "What the hell, Kurt?"

"I was seeing how long I could hold my breath," he told him, which was very true.

"Are you insane? Finn, come in here and help me shower Kurt," Mike called out. Hesitantly, Finn peaked into the bathroom before helping, looking anywhere but his step-brother's body. His closeted homophobia was truly starting to annoy Kurt. "Man, would you stop," Mike sighed. "He's got the same type of body we do, damn, besides that I think he was just trying to drown himself."

"I told you, I was seeing how long I could hold my breath."

"Kurt," Finn sighed, helping the slighter boy into the shower. Did Kurt honestly look like the type of person to commit suicide? They better not be thinking 'poor gay kid that was ruthlessly bullied, having had a near-death experience now wants to take his life'. Kurt would seriously throw a bitch fit if that's what they're thinking and by the looks on their faces that's exactly what they're thinking. Shrugging them off none to kindly he stepped into the shower on his own.

"I'll be down in ten minutes," Kurt told them, stepping into the separate shower. They looked at him skeptically for a moment before nodding and leaving.

Like he promised he came downstairs ten minutes later, everyone rushing to aid him like an invalid.

"Kurt! Kurt!" Brittany called, pulling him to the couch. She had changed into footie pajamas with snowflakes on them. Kurt didn't think she fully grasped the concept of seasonal wear. Regardless she pulled out a bag and placed it between them. "While you were taking a bath I had Mr. Berry take me to The Gay Dolphin. I found this," she exclaimed, pulling a glass mermaid out of the bag. "Like the one that saved you," she smiled. The mermaid was pale, with a glistening purple and pink tail. She sat upon a rock, her eyes staring off into the distance, a hand twirling in her long blonde locks. Purple shells covered her breasts, and a starfish necklace adorned her neck. Brittany dug in her bag again pulling out a book. "She's the mermaid from this book," she pointed. "She's princess Atala, the middle sister of the three princesses." Her eyes lit up as she looked the room over. She wanted to read to them, meaning Puck was already escaping, followed by Finn. Artie stayed out of mere respect for his girlfriend, otherwise Kurt was sure he'd be ducking out as well. Brittany smiled at the remaining boy and the girls, and Artie-Sam and Mike having ducked out as well. She opened the book and started in.

"_Once upon a time there were three beautiful mermaid princesses,"_ she began, eyes wide with excitement. Kurt had a feeling she believed The Little Mermaid was a true story. _"The father was the king of the great Mer city of Atlantis. The three princesses were named Marianna, Atala, and Elizabeth. Marianna was an ambitious girl, ready to take the throne when her father stepped down. Atala had eyes only for mermen and loved taking suitors. Elizabeth liked to sing, and wished to rule Atlantis in her sister's stead fearing the laws Marianna would put in place over the other sea creatures. Sensing his daughter's distress he decided he would give his two younger daughters a gift of their choosing. Atala wished only to have a pheromone that would attract all men, human or mer. Elizabeth wished to see the world above the sea. Her father granted her a stay on land for 10 years."_ He couldn't help but roll his eyes, this story was so one dimensional. It was obvious that Elizabeth would fall in love and wish to stay on land as a human forever. Her father being doting would happily grant that. _"Elizabeth met a human man and they instantly fell in love. In no time Elizabeth became pregnant with a child. News of this reached the sea and by mer law Marianna was made to give up the throne in favor of her youngest sister who had bore an heir. Atala did not wish to bear a child, and agreed to follow whoever took the throne may it be Marianna or Elizabeth. Marianna, however, did not give up. For her remaining years she searched desperately, tried to conceive a child, but was left with no such luck._

_Elizabeth's time on life expired after 10 years. Their father waited till Elizabeth had once again entered the ocean, and immediately pulled her back to her home. Her 8 year old son was meant to come as well but Marianna found her opening. She cursed Elizabeth's royal shell necklace, which was tore from her neck and left to lie on the ocean floor. As part of the curse the seconds before Elizabeth's son was rescued from the sea he was wrapped in a slow change. Slowly he would turn, but the time would pass and it would be to late. At 18 the boy would die on land and Marianna would have the throne again. Elizabeth cried and cried, fearing for her son's life but she could do nothing. Her son had to find the jewel himself, break it and he would be set free, returned to his home under the sea. Now they wait with Marianna on the throne, Elizabeth praying her son would return to her, return to the sea where he belonged. The End."_ Brittany closed the book, hugging it to her chest.

"That was the end?" Quinn questioned. "What happened to the son? The mother? What happened?"

Brittany picked up her stature looking at it. "The lady at the store said that Elizabeth can be sighted looking for son. Atala sits out on rocks by international waters, hoping to lure human men off cruise ships. She can be seen chasing ships, those big ones with the tinkling machines. See? I bet you were saved by Elizabeth or Atala."

Hesmiled at her, not offering much more. That sounded like a Disney tale if he'd ever heard one. If it made Brittany happy then he could at least act happy. With a fake yawn Kurt stretched my arms, excusing himself to bed. They bid him goodnight, it was that easy.

-o-

Kurt wasn't one for stealing, stealing was beneath him, but he needed to go to the ocean again. He needed to find that talking fish or the thing that had grabbed him, crazy as it sounded. So maybe a small bubble in his heart made him think his mother was still alive. That the Elizabeth in the story was in fact his own mother, that she was some kind of mermaid looking for him even to this day. It was a ridiculous bubble, but a bubble none-the-less. Taking Mr. Berry's keys off the hook Kurt snuck out the front door and took the small Acura they kept for family trips. If anyone woke up from the sound he didn't see them as he took off down the empty roads back towards the boardwalk. Once a person saw the path once, it wasn't hard to find again, the roads were practically a circle. All one had to do was pass the fifty mini-golf courses, pass the HardRock and Planet Hollywood and there were plenty of places to turn out to the beach. Pulling into a parking space, he ignored the meter since he seriously doubted police would be patrolling this late at night.

Taking one last deep breath he exited the car to begin his walk down to the beach. Like a mantra he repeated, 'this is crazy' over and over just under his breath. This was more crazy than the time he wore nine dollar Wal-mart sweatpants, merely because dad gave them to him for Christmas. That had been mere wool infested insanity compared to this.

Not until his feet touched the sand did he realize he was barefoot. Kurt tried desperately not to think about how many diseases he might have just picked up. God, he was really out of his mind about this. Regardless he trudged across the sand to stand in the surf, staring out into the dark. Behind him a loving couple walked along the beach, whispering sweet nothings to each other. A buoy far out bounced with a faint ring of a bell, it's red light shining for the cruise ships that were still out. Kurt kicked his feet in the surf, wading a bit further so the water pushed against his calves. Faintly he felt the current pull at him, but oddly weaker than earlier.

"What do we have here?" a gruff voice called out. Kurt looked around for the source, wondering if he had offended someone with his moonlight fabulous-ness. "Down here, nitwit."

He jumped back, falling into the water at the sight of the glaring tiger shark. A shark. Oh crap, a shark and dear god, it was talking to him.

"You mer people think you can just swim wherever you please, doesn't matter if a territory is clearly marked. I got my eye on that Pavarotti, I see the way he eyeballs my rock," the shark said, turning to Kurt and glaring further. "You're lucky that Blaine saved you, he's got respect for domains. Decent kid that Blaine, but I tell you what, Blaine or not next time you step in my domain I'm going to make mince meat out of you, got it?" he snarled, snapping his jaw with it three row of viciously sharp teeth. He attempted to move back without setting the angry fish off, but he kept advancing. "Then again, I could just finish you off now. Save myself the trouble in the future…."

"Trigger you made your peace. Leave him be," a new voice commanded, that sounded very human. Trigger, the shark, spun around just as a man emerged from the water. He swam closer, pushing his curly black locks back.

Kurt willed his beating heart to be still as the man approached, his figure becoming clearer. He was gorgeous more than gorgeous even. Chiseled, built, but not to built, to hold and protect not to crush, that perfect body void of hair. Brown eyes smiled at me, something in those eyes made this man seemed indescribably dapper.

"Tattle-fish," the sharked glared at the tiny rainbow trout. The fish in question turned it's tail fin to the shark splashing it. "Keep him out of my home, and I won't rip his tail off, that is when he gets one. But if you become chum first," he turned back to Kurt, grinning. "I'll happy get rid of the remains."

"Off with you Trigger," the dapper man ordered.

The brown and beige colored tiger-shark bowed his head. "Whatever the all powerful merman commands." With that the shark swam away, splashing water in Kurt's face. Blaine, as he had previously been called, shot a glare at the shark before swimming up to Kurt and sitting next to him. Kurt stared at the shimmering scales of navy blue, with underlying red. The fish's tail splashed lightly against the waves, the reds glistening in the moonlight.

"Y-you're a…a…mermaid!"

"Merman is the correct term," Blaine smiled, sliding his hand back and forth in the surf.

"You're the man that saved me," Kurt surmised.

"Sorry about those marks, the waves became progressively stronger. I'm thinking it might have been your body trying to accommodate your panic. That happens a lot with new transitions."

"New transitions?"

"Into a merman," the rainbow trout scoffed, a large silver chain around it. "I found this for my house."

"Wait? I'm a merman?"

"There's zero doubt," Blaine nodded. "You can breathe underwater, you talk to fish, and you aren't feeling how truly cold the water is around you. Your body isn't reacting to it either."

Kurt hadn't noticed before that the water was cold. In fact it felt lukewarm to him, and his skin wasn't bluing either.

"I'm Blaine, by the way," the merman introduced, holding his hand out. Kurt took it, shaking it, surprised at how warm it was.

"Kurt," he responded, swallowing heavily. Pavarotti rolled his eyes, pushing between the two.

"They fall easily for Blaine, but he's waiting for his promised suitor. Her highness's son, the prince himself, who we don't know even exists," Pavarotti taunted, causing Blaine to turn red.

"He exists. I know that sounds weird, but I'm a romantic. See, I was adopted by Marianna, she found me when I was merely 4. I was promised that if I found him, I'd be able to wed him. I was 8 at that time, and jumped at the chance not even thinking if he'd like other merman. He could be a mermaid type of guy, I never thought about it I just know he'll be returning home soon."

"Pardon me if I'm slightly lost."

"You're one of those mermen born on land," Pavarotti huffed. "Means you'll return to Atlantis when you turn 16. Mer-people born under the water, as according to the law set by the 12th king, are given the option to see land till their 16 birthday or if they are of age, they are allowed a 10 year stint on land."

"I'm 17," Kurt told them. "I turn 18 in three months."

Pavarotti and Blaine exchanged looks. "You're 17 but haven't changed yet?" Blaine questioned.

"This is the first time I've been back to the ocean since I was 8."

"That doesn't matter," Blaine informed him, shaking his head. "Even bath water can cause the change. Lake water as well, so unless you've avoided water for the past 10 years…" Suddenly Blaine's eyes widened. "Your highness?" he whispered.

"No way," Pavarotti awed. "You think he's the prince?"

"The prince can only return with the power of his mother's stone. His body begins to undergo the change but he can't fully become a merman until he breaks his mother's stone."

Kurt blinked. "Well, I should be going. The Berrys will be worried and…."

"Please don't go," Blaine called, grabbing Kurt's hands. "I apologize, your highness, but if you are who we think you are then you can't return. You need to find your mother's stone so you may return to your people. If you return her highness Elizabeth will have the throne."

"My mother died 10 years ago off the coast of Florida, alright?" he stood up, looking forlornly at his now ruined pants. "Tomorrow, I'll wake up in my bed, down in the basement. This will all have been a dream. No talking fish, sharks, or mermaids."

"Merman," Blaine corrected.

"Right," Kurt nodded. "Well see you."

"Wait!" Pavarotti yelled as Kurt hurriedly walked up the beach. "HEY! HEY!"

"It's fine, Pavarotti, we'll send Wes as his protector. You know Wes, a very no nonsense type of merman. He'll protect Kurt."

"Whatever you say, Blaine, whatever you say."

-o-o-o-

"It's truly not a problem Burt. Kurt has been through a trauma. Both the car and Kurt were here this morning so really it's no cause for concern," Mr. Berry continued to placate the other father. "Yes, I assure you, we'll be leaving tomorrow and till then we'll make sure Kurt stays inside. Yes, he truly just needs a little calm down time. Of course you can talk to him the moment he wakes up. The other kids are out at Ripley's Believe it or Not, they'll be going to HardRock for dinner or Planet Hollywood as Rachel suggested, but I'll keep you updated. Of course. You take care Burt, alright, bye." With that Mr. Berry hung up his phone to return to his cooking. A knock came from the front door, startling him. He hadn't expected any visitors and the kids had only been out for an hour or so. Regardless, he went to answer it, surprised to see an unfamiliar boy standing on the other side. He seemed to be Asian with black hair that clung to his forehead like he had just come from swimming. Jean shorts covered his lower half, while a white tank top covered his top, a pair of flip-flops finished off the quintessential beach look.

"I'm looking for Kurt," he said, his tone suggesting he was all business.

"I apologize, but he's sleeping."

The teen ignored him, entering the home and toeing his shoes off at the mat. "Where is he residing?"

Mr. Berry looked at the boy in offense. "Excuse me but…"

"Never mind," the boy sighed, having spotted Kurt on the pull out sofa. None to gently he pushed on Kurt's shoulder, jolting the boy awake. "I apologize for rudely awakening you, your highness, but Blaine has requested that you be protected on land. I am Wesley, fourth son of Shira, your mother's protector."

"No!" Kurt pointed. "No! That was all a dream. Last night was not real, alright? I'm not…" Kurt looked to Mr. Berry before hissing out. "A mermaid."

"You are, and you will return to your kingdom. You do not truly wish to stay among these humans do you? They are so, un-evolved. Thousands of years of evolution and look around you," Wesley grimaced at the thought. "Humans, are the reason we live so far below, much cleaner. Now, I have no desire to baby-sit an obstinate prince. Your highness will do as I say for your safe safety. Do you not think Her Majesty Marianna would not like to see you done for?"

Kurt hid under his blanket, shaking his head. "This is not happening. Not to me."

With a roll of his eyes, Wesley took a seat in a near by chair, picking up an issue of Vogue. "I have time to wait while you whine. It is you is racing the hourglass."

"What do you mean?" Kurt asked, peeking over the edge of his blanket. Wesley sighed, placing the magazine only to catch sight of Brittany's book. He picked it up, opening it.

"Seems you already know," he flipped through the pages, stopping and handing it to him. "If you do not find your mother's stone by sunrise of your 18th birthday you will die. From what I understand you have less than two months left."

"This is…"

"A tail passed down for the past 10 years among our people. The day your mother returned was meant to be your own return but your human father pulled you out of the water. Her Majesty Marianna saw an opening and cursed you. It would have been more beneficial for you to find out sooner, however, we have little time to fret. If you will allow me, I'll escort you to the ocean. From there Blaine can take over, David and myself will follow."

Kurt blinked, looking between Wesley and the book. "Follow where?"

"To where her highness Elizabeth returned."

"What? Mom disappeared off the coast of Florida. We were at Sunny Isles Beach out by North Miami, do you know how far that is from here? I do NOT want to have to fly down there, then have to fly back up to Ohio, no thank you."

"For one, once you find the stone, your change will be complete, there will be no returning to land. Second, we would swim. We are half fish, not half bird."

"SWIM?" Kurt yelled, falling off the bed, making Mr. Berry rush back in the room. Kurt gave him a smile saying he was fine and he could go back to cooking. Mr. Berry gave him one last look before leaving. "Are you critical? That's got to be over 600 miles."

"I admit, the trip will take a couple of days, depending how close to the shore we stay. Sharks can be a bit hostile so we'll need to avoid them the best we can, and we shouldn't encounter whales if we don't go out to far out. It's safer not to bring Pavarotti, he likes to be the fanciest fish in the bunch, and generally gets himself in trouble."

"You're insane, I can't swim 600 miles, my body will dehydrate."

"You're not getting the fact that you're a merman, do you? You may not be a full merman yet, but your body has accommodated enough to handle it. You may need to rest more often, and you probably can't swim as low, but you should be able to make it with little difficulty."

"You're insane," Kurt sighed, collapsing against the bed. "This was all supposed to be a dream."

"I'm insane? Are you sure you met Blaine? Then again, he risked exposing himself to save your life when you panicked. Now shall we go?"

"Wait! Before, you said I'd never come back to land, what about my dad?"

"Honestly," Wesley sighed, standing up. "Which do you think he'd prefer? You dead, or alive, even though you're living in the ocean? It wouldn't be hard for him to see you, all he'd have to do it go to the lake or ocean and you could see him. Now, can we please depart?"

"I-I…"

"I don't have time for this. I do not like land, I want to return to the ocean. The human won't even realize we've left, can we leave now."

Kurt was hesitant, but nodded. A part him was afraid that all this was true, that he really would really die if he didn't go with this man. It was insanity but nothing made sense since the day 10 years ago on the beach.

It took them less than ten minutes to get to the beach. Wesley shook his head, making a comment about how humans had zero respect for the beach. The humans didn't realize that once high tide came in all the holes they made or trash they left would become inconveniences to those who lived there.

"Kurt, whatcha doing out here?" Mercedes yelled, running up to her best friend.

"Mercedes, I have to say, this bathing suit looks fabulous on you," Kurt smiled, looking over her choice of swimwear.

"Thank you, Santana and I decided to get our tan on while everyone else went to the haunted house. Brittany is in the ocean chasing fish," Mercedes smiled, pointing to the blonde who kept jumping in the waves.

He smiled, waving to said girl that had caught sight of him. "I thought I'd go for a swim. I can't stay scared because of a minor drowning experience."

"You go for it, Kurt, personally I'm staying up here and waiting for Quinn and then we're going to go shopping. You can come with if you'd like."

"Oh yeah, count on it, I love dressing you girls," he agreed.

"Your highness, if you would," Wesley said quietly, removing his shirt. Mercedes peered around Kurt, lifting her sunglasses, eyes roaming Wesley's body.

"Damn! Please Kurt tell me he's not on your team."

"WES! LET'S GO!" a voice yelled from the ocean. Wes turned to the water, waving to a shirtless male wading out in waist high waters. Grabbing Kurt's arm, Wes pulled him towards the water.

"Remove your shirt," Wes ordered. Kurt looked at him for a moment before doing so and following him out into the water. The met up with the other boy who bowed his head.

"Your highness. He does look the mirror image of Her highness doesn't he? Well, shall we go? Blaine will meet us a two miles out," David informed them. "Wes, is his eyes adjusted to water yet?"

"According to Blaine, no, his eyes aren't adjusted."

"Then we have no choice but to bring Pavarotti with us, his scales illuminate enough for his highness to follow."

"I believe I heard my name," Pavarotti called, popping out of the water, shaking his fins. "Naturally you are in need of a fabulous fish such as myself. You both have more scales than myself and yet, I outshine you both."

"Let's get going," Wes commanded. "Pavarotti, stay close to his highness. David, don't smack your tail on the water, and your highness, please do not panic when you can't see. You can breathe underwater, just breathe as you would naturally on land. David, go on ahead."

David nodded, lowering under the water and swimming off. Kurt saw his long fish tale become a shadow under the waves before the man disappeared completely. Wes lowered under the water as well his legs now a long tail of yellows and orange. Pavarotti motioned with his head for Kurt to follow. Taking a deep breath Kurt lowered under the water following Pavarotti as he skimmed across the bottom. He felt slow compared to the others as his arms and legs pushed against the water, occasionally getting thrown off by the heavier waves.

"Hey, don't slow down, speed up," Pavarotti called, spinning with a flourish.

"I'm trying," Kurt yelled at the fish, surprised that his words came out clear and not as air bubbles.

"Trying? Just swim, it's not hard."

"I don't have a tail, if you haven't noticed."

"Excuses. Excuses," Pavarotti sang, swimming around Kurt's head.

"Pavarotti, stop taunting him," Wes called from ahead of them.

"But he's swimming so slow and kicking his legs like a frog. How do they teach you humans to swim on land? At least he's not trying to swim like a merman without his tail. I always have to laugh at how ridiculous that looks."

"How much further do we have to swim out?"

"Another mile," David answered from ahead of him. "How do you feel?

"Fine. I feel absolutely fine," Kurt answered.

"CURRENT!" Pavarotti yelled, being swept backwards by the sudden shift in the water. Kurt felt the push against his chest, forcing him backwards. The force of said current caused him to lose his breath, causing him to flail. Not being able to hold on under water he resurfaced, gasping the sea air in. Wes and David popped out of the water moments later. In the distance whistles started blaring as a lifeguard caught sight of the three. The lifeguards immediately rushed out into the water, boards in hand.

"We can out swim them easily," David called. Wes nodded, swimming over to Kurt.

"More trouble than you're worth, your highness," he sighed, diving back under the water holding Kurt's wrist. The change in speed was surreal to Kurt. When he'd been swimming alone he felt fast, but being pulled along by Wes showed him differently. Now he shot through the water next to the merman, ripping through the water, even when currents pressed against him. All the while his brain told him he should chock or cough or fight, but his body did not respond. It relished in the water's rough but flowing movement. His lungs breathed in the water, not even making him cough. The cold of the water, even at a change of depth didn't bother him. It was obvious this is where his body was meant to be. He didn't feel out of place here, except for lacking a tail.

When they reached the meeting spot, Wes jerked Kurt upwards both surfacing above the water, Blaine smiling at them.

"Your highness," Blaine bowed, shooting a 1000-watt smile at the prince, making said boy blush.

"Well, seems we had nothing to worry about with the betrothal aspect," David laughed, looking between the two.

"David, not now," Wes sighed. "The humans are swimming out, no doubt soon they'll have boats out looking for us or at least his highness. It's to dangerous to skim the surface."

"We can't very well stay on the floor either. Right here alone is a good thirty feet deep, beyond that Kurt won't be able to handle the water pressure. His body isn't completely transitioned yet."

"He's fine at least at 20 feet, we can probably push a little further down, but his highnesses ears will be vulnerable to the pressure," Wes elaborated.

"Either way, guys, we should get going. Looks like the lifeguards are scrambling jet skis," David pointed out.

Blaine swam over to Kurt, giving him another heart pounding smile. "I'll stay with you, alright?"

"Y-yeah," Kurt nodded.

"Let's go 15 miles out and then head south towards Florida."

"Are you sure it's 15?" Wes questioned.

"What's 15?" Kurt asked.

"They'll no doubt come looking for you, but they can't cross into international waters. I believe it's international at 7 but we're going out 15 miles to be safe, alright?" Blaine explained, not being able to help but push Kurt's wet hair back. Kurt blushed a deeper red than Blaine's tale before nodding dumbly. "Don't worry, your highness, I'll protect you."

"Y-You don't have to keep calling me that. You can call me Kurt."

"I know, your highness."

If Kurt hadn't met this man for the first time 12 hours ago, he'd be declaring his love to him already.

"Let's go," Blaine called, lowering under the water, bringing Kurt down with him. "Pavarotti, stay in front of Kurt so he can see, but please don't get yourself eaten."

"Not funny," Pavarotti shivered.

"Your highness can stay close to myself."

A complex was slowly developing within Kurt as Blaine wrapped a secure arm around his waist and took off swimming. Wes and David both rolled their eyes, taking off ahead of the two.

David swam closer to Wes shaking his head at the other merman. "Didn't Her majesty say get close to Kurt not fall in love with him?"

"This is going to prove problematic. My brother's maybe proud of being second-rate protectors but I'm not. Blaine needs to re-access where his loyalties lie."

"He's moved this to fast. Kurt will find the sea-shell before his birthday."

"It's fine, I'm sure Her Majesty has a plan in that event, but Blaine…"

"He's actually falling in love with the prince, need he be reminded that Kurt is going to die? I mean we all know Elizabeth is a very sweet woman, but she's not fit to rule Atlantis," David sighed, looking back at them.

"Maybe we can do this subtly. Taking his highness deeper under the water than he can handle, that will remind Blaine that the boy will never be one of us. He'll die a human."

David tsk'd, turning to his back and placing his arms behind his head. His tail pushed against the water as he swerved along. "Tragic."

Pavarotti looked at the two before looking at Blaine. Blaine looked to be pointedly ignoring them as he talked to Kurt about the salt in the water. Did it burn his eyes? How was his hearing? Did he feel like he was getting swimmer's ear? It was truly inane conversation but Pavarotti was worried. He'd known Blaine for a very long time and Blaine never once acknowledged Marianna as a mother. Would he really kill Kurt?

"How far have we swam so far?" Kurt asked, the words coming out with slight bubbles.

"Just about 3 miles," Blaine answered. "Are you tired? Do you need to stop?"

"I'm fine," Kurt answered with a shake of his head. "You're doing most of the swimming, all I have to do is kick my legs," he laughed. "I have to say though, this whole situation seems very Little Mermaid, if you've ever heard of it."

"I think I have. That's the story about the mermaid that feel in love with the human, right? Gave up her voice for a chance at his love or something like that?"

"That's the one," Kurt affirmed.

"Which is actually ridiculous. Because unless we are in human form our voices can't be understood by humans. I guess if there was a word for it we speak Mermish."

Kurt raised an eyebrow at this. "Like in Harry Potter?"

Blaine couldn't help but laugh. "Do humans have a pop culture reference for everything? I'm not sure how Mermish sounds in Harry Potter but in reality to humans it sounds like gurgling, or perhaps croaking. I guarantee you don't sound beautiful and melodic like Ariel would have you believe. Actually, it's a very rare gift to be able to sing beautifully under water."

"Can you sing?"

"Above water yes, in the water, not so much," Blaine chuckled.

"Guys! Boat ahead, I hear a sonar!" David yelled back, before diving under and swimming rapidly downward. Wes followed suit, looking to Blaine.

"What are they doing?"

"The boat has a fish sonar, it'll pick up on us, they're swimming to the floor to get outside it's range. Assuming it's a low-tech one it'll only pick up to 100 feet or so."

Kurt gulped. "How deep is the water now?"

"About 175 feet or so, there's some major drop offs along the bottom. I'm going to take you down a little further down and then I'm going to push through. The sonar won't pick up on you, but it will immediately pick me up. Watch out for hooks if it's a fishing boat."

"John, you left the blood bait at home, didn't ya? Susan will never forgive me if we attract a shark out here."

"Yeah I left it in the truck," John answered, tiring off his lure. "Are you sure we're still in US lines, we don't need the coastguard getting us for being to far out."

"We're fine, I got the map and everything, I've seen people out here before. There's a lot of trenches around here, lots of place for schools to gather."

"Yeah, Melanie has been wanting a fish fry for a while and…holy shit, Nate come look at this," John called his friend over to the fish finder. "What the hell is that?"

"Shit, I hope that's not a shark," Nate cursed, starting at the fish finder. The man turned away from the finder to look over the edge. The water was to dark for him to see below the surface but the small ripples told him something was moving down there.

"I hope that's not a fucking gar, you know those things can get fucking huge," John cursed, reeling in the one line they had cast out, just in case "You know those Alligar can get up to 9 feet on a good day."

"Whatever it was it's gone now."

"Crazy, I don't know about you, but I ain't got the balls to take on an alligator gar."

"Yeah, Susan wouldn't be fond of me losing a hand either. Let's just keep an eye on the finder, we see something like that again we'll move out a bit."

"Works for me."

Blaine held Kurt close as they continued to swim. For someone transitioning as slowly as Kurt he was doing extremely well to last ten miles without exhaustion setting in. His breathing was steady which means his lungs had fully adapted the change to breathe in water as well as air. His body was overall was taking the entire change in stride, which was fantastic. Sometimes there were complications when a mer person was on land for so long. Then again, Kurt is a royal, meant to be in the sea not on land.

When they reached the turning point and began heading south Blaine noticed that Kurt's eyes began to droop with unspoken exhaustion. "Guys, I'm taking Kurt inland, we'll rest for the night."

"Blaine, we're already 20 miles out, that would just take us longer," Wes told him.

"It's fine, there's an island not far. Just a couple of miles from here, we'll let him sleep ashore, his body is not yet adjusted to sleeping in water."

"Does as you wish," Wes sighed. "We'll rest on the floor. I prefer seaweed beds after all."

Blaine nodded to the mermen before talking off towards the small island, all the while keeping Kurt awake. He couldn't have him falling asleep underwater now could he?

-o-o-o-

Kurt groaned as he roused from sleep. The last thing he remembered was Pavarotti swimming about and teasing Blaine about something before he began to fall asleep, under the water. He sat up to find he was laying in surf, on an secluded shore, nothing but trees behind him. Unfortunately, the shore was not sand it was primarily dirt, mud, algae and seaweed. That was not pleasant.

"Good morning," Blaine called from the water. "Did you sleep well?"

"I guess I did. Come to think of it I don't recall ever sleeping this well on a bed."

"That's because the elements like us, mer people that is. Sand, algae, seaweed, even mud, it works wonders for us. I'm sure you have a grandioso view of what the palace in Atlantis looks like, but in reality, it's constructed from ship wrecks and mud, and building fragments, and lots of rocks."

"So it doesn't glisten or shine? I guess I imagined it made of limestone and pearls and gemstones, glistening and mystical," Kurt admitted, trying to brush the mud from his hair.

"Perhaps magical and beautiful in our eyes, but to the eyes of humans I'm sure they'd be vastly disappointed. So are you ready to head off?"

"What about breakfast?"

"There's some coconuts behind you, you can eat one of those or else you can wait till we find some small fish."

"Small fish?" Kurt blinked. "Is that like cannibalism?"

"Not in the least, it's just a circle of life. Whales eat small fish as well, so do sharks. We either eat fish or seaweed, but we stick to usually a fish diet."

"I see."

"Odd yes, but it's better than staying on a plant diet. Besides humans eat animals and fish themselves do they not, it's the same basic principle."

"Yes but you can hear the fish and doesn't that…."

"Your highness, you will find out soon enough. Now Wes and David have gone ahead, we'll swim above the surface for as long as we can and then dive under. I want you to be able to see for a while, the ocean is a very beautiful place, above and below."

Kurt smiled, getting up to wade out. He stretched his arms above his head with a yawn, not bothering to pay attention as the water became deeper. That was until his foot went out from under him on a grouping of algae.

"Watch it," Blaine called, catching Kurt to keep him above the water. Kurt's arms wrapped around Blaine's body, keeping himself steady from the fall.

"Sorry," he whispered, all to aware of how their naked chests were pressed together.

Blaine swallowed heavily staring down into sea-foam eyes, that changed slowly to blue. "It's no problem." Before he realized what he was doing he leaned down lips moving closer and closer to Kurt's one. He was a breaths away from kissing him when Pavarotti interrupted them with a yell. With a glare he broke the two apart, Blaine giving a nervous shrug. "Well, let us go, your highness."

-o-o-o-

"Look, I don't care what it takes, I want to find my son," Burt yelled to the coastguards who were trying to placate him.

"Sir, you son was last spotted about two miles off the shore with three other boys. All four went under but never came back up, they might have been swept under. At the moment we have people scouring the shores and small islands looking for any sign of them, but you may need to prepare yourself for the worse. This isn't a pond, this is the ocean, bodies are rarely recovered."

"Don't give me that bullshit, just find my son."

"Burt, please calm down," Mr. Berry tried.

"YOU! You were supposed to be watching him, what happened to not letting him leave and now he's missing."

"He just left," Mr. Berry defended. "This other boy came to see him, a boy I've never met. I was in the kitchen and a few moments later they were gone."

"What were they talking about? Where did they go?" Burt asked, desperate to some clue as to find his baby boy.

"I-I don't know. They were whispering, and every time I could catch a sound they were making strange gargling noises. Like gargling water or mouthwash."

"Gargling?" Mike asked, all eyes turning to him. "I know this is going to sound strange, really strange, but when I was in China last month I saw something really strange when I went to the beach with my cousins. There were these kids sitting on some rocks and they were talking but the weird thing is, it didn't sound like Chinese. To be honest, it sounded like weird croaking or something."

"I heard something like that too once," Sam jumped in. "When I was visiting my grandpa out in California. He has a beach house out there because he said he wanted to see nothing but blue when he dies. Anyways, I asked him about it and he told me it was mermaids."

"Mermaids, Sam," Quinn sighed in disbelief.

"Yeah, told me he saw one when he was in his teens. Described her as unbelievably beautiful with long blonde locks, a long strand of seashells in her hair. He said her eyes were as blue as the ocean and she merely looked at him, never said a word before swimming off into the ocean. Said that's one of the reasons he wanted to see the ocean. Says he sees her once every five years."

"Mermaids," Brittany exclaimed knowing she'd been right.

"Everyone, I understand you're all worried, but I assure you there are no mermaids in these waters," the guard told them. "We'll do everything we can to find your son, Mr. Hummel, but you may need to prepare for only his body. Even if you don't wish to admit it, and we may not even find that. For the time being please relax, we have the beach closed off and we are looking."

"You better damn well find my baby boy, you hear me? You better find him."

-o-o-o-

"It's so endless," Kurt mused, staring up at the sky as he skimmed across the top of the water.

"I love it," Blaine answered, his tail splashing gently atop the water. "Wait till your eyes adjust and you can see under the water. You see how clear it is here?"

"It's really amazing. Where are we anyways?"

"Not sure exactly, but if I ventured a guess at least 300 miles or so from where we started. I don't really think about it, I just swim."

"Where is Atlantis from here?"

"Mm, not to far actually. About 150 miles or so to the southeast, and about 2 miles under the water. You won't be able to see it till you change."

Kurt chuckled lightly. "I never expected Atlantis to be real, then again mermaids aren't supposed to be either."

"It's not like how Plato theorized it. There's no lost people living under water, or a secret passage like so many think. There's not even a Leviathan, I guess the closest thing we have is a Giant Squid we call Teddy but he's not Atlantis' guardian or anything, he just hangs around."

"Blaine?"

"Hm?"

"What's your mom like?"

"My mom? I don't remember her, I was five when Marianna found me. She adopted me, raised me, taught me, but I've never really considered her my mother. I searched for a long time to find my real mother, even gave up ever going to shore. When I realized it was hopeless I found a new dream, finding you. Marianna, she promised that if I found you we could wed, you and I. Elizabeth promised a similar thing, saying her son would need a protector, a strong partner. I think she knew you'd be partial to other mermen," Blaine winked.

"Neither one of us really knew our mothers. My last memory of my mom was her in the ocean with me, she was showing me a sea-shell and then we were pulled under by a wave. Dad pulled me out and mom was never found. Guess I know why now."

"Elizabeth loves you, you know, she never stopped loving you. She talks about you all the time and how she can't wait to see you again and hold you in her arms."

Kurt smiled up at the clouds, sighing wistfully. "I want to see her again too. Knowing my mother is still out there. Wants to see me it makes me…."

"Watch out," a small voice yelled before something came flying over Kurt's head, making him fall under. Blaine immediately grabbed his arm, pulling him back above the water. "I'm sorry," the voice from before said. Kurt spun around to see a small dolphin staring at him. "I was trying to jump like my daddy does and I guess I over-shot. I didn't mean to," he squeaked.

"No, it's alright," Kurt waved, smiling at the cute mammal that Brittany had once dubbed a 'gay shark'.

"I'm CC," it smiled.

"I'm Kurt, this is Blaine."

"HI!" CC squeaked excitedly. "You're both mermen? Why don't you have a tail, Kurt? Did you lose it? Can a merman lose his tail? Can I lose my tail?"

"Nothing like that CC," Blaine jumped in. "Kurt just has to find his special stone so he can become a merman."

"Special stone? What kind of stone?"

"I'm not sure exactly," Kurt admitted.

"It's probably a seashell, possibly pink with an unnatural shimmer to it, on a gold chain."

Kurt looked at his traveling companion thoroughly confused on how he knew what the stone looked like. Then again it could very well be common knowledge among Atlantis.

"A sea-shell? Hey, I saw something like that once. I was born near the Bahamas and swam around that area a lot. I think I saw a human wearing something like that. She worked in a marina and was one of those humans that liked to train dolphins for riding. She was really nice."

"How long ago was that?" Blaine asked.

"Umm…five years ago, I think. I don't know where the necklace went after that. I think it broke off and one of the dolphins swam off with it. But if you'd like I can go and ask my mommy, she's just down below."

"Kurt, do you mind staying here for a moment?"

"Alone?" he asked in disbelief.

"Pavarotti will stay with you, I'll be back in two shakes of a fin, alright?" Kurt hesitantly nodded, Blaine diving under the water with the dolphin and disappearing.

"Don't worry," Pavarotti called. "He'll be back, mer-people swim fast."

"That's not very settling. If you haven't noticed we are in the middle of the ocean, where there's sharks, whales, and god knows what else."

"There's ME!" a whispy voice sang before a blonde woman popped out from the water. "Dear nephew, look at you, you like exactly like Elizabeth. You'll probably have her colors too."

"D-do I know you?" Kurt stuttered, slowly drifting back away from her.

"I'm Atala, your mother's sister. Middle child, frivolous one as I've been called. You're Kurt right? That's what Lizzy said she named you."

"Yes, my name is Kurt," he dumbly replied.

"So, Kurt, what are you doing out here all alone? Ocean is a dangerous place. No doubt you're looking for Lizzy's shell to break Anna's curse."

"You know about that?"

"We all do," she giggled, flipping her tale of purple and pink above the water. "So, out here all alone?"

"No, I am with Blaine. He followed a dolphin that had a lead on mom's shell."

"Blaine?" Atala questioned, laughter in her tone. "He's Anna's lap dog, you'll die for sure if it's his hands you're in. Only way you could be in more trouble is if you had that son of Shira's with you, Wesley I think his name is. OH! Marco's son too. Marco raised his boys to be firm supporters of Anna, they'd want you dead."

"What?"

"My dear, don't you know anything? Blaine asked Anna to be betrothed to you, it worked in her plans for a while but then she feared he'd actually fall in love you. Couldn't have that, puts a damper things, so she made him an offer, your life for the life of his mother's. If he assured your death, his mother would live. From what I know he took that offer. I'm mutual really, I don't care about politics, doesn't matter to me who takes the throne. But Anna, she'll see you dead," Atala told him as she swam around him. "No doubt he's been leading you towards Florida, by the time you got there, you'd spend days searching for the stone. Then months, and then it would be to late and you would die," she sang-song. "Then again, if it was still there, he'd hide it from you. Actually, come to think of it, he already is."

"What do you mean?"

"Anna can be a bit oblivious but she's not stupid, my Brittany no doubt has the shell. She won't know what it is of course, but she has it, Anna would have found a way to give it to her."

"Brittany? Brittany who?"

"My daughter, silly. You see 16 years ago I went to shore and met this really wonderful surfer. We spent an amazing night together under the stars and nine months later I had Brittany. Of course you were already born then but I had her and gave her up. Anna knew and I told her I'd keep it a secret since I didn't want the throne and Brittany wouldn't return to the ocean till she was 18. Even then there was no guarantee she'd find me. Since not even Lizzy knows about Brittany, I'm guessing Anna would have made sure the shell got to her. Not sure how but I'm sure that's where it is. No doubt in my mind."

She dove under the water before remerging spitting playfully at him.

"Oh, I see a cruise ship in the distance. Well, I'll see around nephew, if you live. Bye," she waved.

"Wait! Brittany's father, who was he?"

"Hmm? Oh! His name was Pierce. Aaron Pierce. Bye," with that she dove under the water, swimming rapidly towards the blaring cruise ship.

"Kurt!" Blaine called, remerging from the sea, pushing his curls back. "Wonderful news, the dolphin said that the shell stayed around the Bahamas, possibly on shore. She said if we get there we'll no doubt find it."

"LIAR!" Pavarotti yelled instead of Kurt. "I knew there was always something to perfect about you."

"Back down Pavarotti, I'm just telling you what the dolphin told me. We can meet up with Wes and David in about 105 miles and then…."

"What? Kill me?"

"What? No, of course not," Blaine denied. "Kurt I'm trying to save you."

"LIAR!" Pavarotti yelled again. "Liar! Liar! Liar!"

"You knew Brittany had it, didn't you? You knew I was ten feet away from it so you lied to be and brought me out here. By the time I figured it out it would be to late wouldn't it?"

"Kurt! No! I didn't know!"

"I die you get your mother back, right? That's the deal right?" Kurt yelled, pushing Blaine hard.

"My mother? What does she have to do with this?"

"My life for hers, RIGHT?"

"Kurt I would NEVER do that. If my mother was still alive she'd never allow it."

"Stop lying to me!" Kurt yelled, trying to stop the tears already falling. "TELL ME THE TRUTH!"

"Kurt, I promise you, the truth," Blaine panted. "I-Marianna ordered me to take you to the stone. After that she'd take it from you and cast it off on land so you'd never find it in time. But I'm not going to let that happen, I was going to stop her and rescue you and Parker myself. She's not been dangling my mother over me it's my brother. She promised if I did this she'd let Parker return to the ocean. He's a kid Kurt. I was going to change you myself, transferring my life to you and then take to land and find Parker and my own stone, I swear to you I never intended for you to die."

"Yes, you did. That shell is the only I can turn, that's what you told me. You think Marianan would let you attempt to 'save me'? You've been using me," Kurt despaired.

"No!" Blaine denied, pulling Kurt to him and kissing him hard. Kurt immediately pushed away from him falling under the water for a moment before regaining his buoyancy. "Kurt, I've loved you since before I met you."

Kurt stared at him in disbelief and shock. "You're a liar, now I have to…"

"Kurt, please!"

"Stay away from me!" Kurt shouted. "Pavarotti, do you know the way back?"

"Yeah, I'll show you," the rainbow fish nodded, swimming off with Kurt behind him. All Blaine could do was stare in disbelief as the boy swam rapidly away. How did things go so wrong so quickly?

-o-o-o-

"I played my role as you asked, Anna, now you'll leave Brittany out of this as I requested."

"But of course, dear little sister. I know you have no aspirations to sit on the throne so as promised Brittany can join us at 18. However, you will never return to Atlantis, you understand? You may have no aspirations but father will surely de-throne me knowing both my sisters have bore children."

"We'll never return. We'll go to the Pacific Ocean and join the merpeople there. I have already spoken with their king and he has graciously allowed me to join them," Atala informed her.

"Perfect. That will be the first thing I do rid of; breeding with humans. It's disgraceful. We were not born of humans and we are better than them. You and Elizabeth have dishonored this family by bearing the fruit of those land-breathers."

Atala kept her mouth shut as to not point out they were indeed half human themselves and could breathe on land.

"Also, that ridiculous little law to allow children to walk amongst humans till 16 will be abolished. They need not know anything outside this sea, their true home. Land makes these children rebellious, you do not see Blaine disobeying my orders, this is because he has never walked on land."

Or perhaps because you are holding everything he holds dear hostage, sister, Atala thought bitterly. Marianna was quite good at taking what people cared for most. But maybe she underestimated things, like Blaine's devotion to their young Prince. True the boy had desired to wed the prince when he was no more than 10 years old, but his dedication to their nephew was very real. Atala hated to say it, but Blaine's love for Kurt may be the boy's only saving grace. If it came down to it, she wondered if Blaine would make the trade to save Kurt's life; even at the cost of his own would he do it?

-o-o-o-

"Come on, you can't be tired," Pavarotti yelled. "It's only be two days, we can do this. We're close." They weren't really but Pavarotti could give a pep talk. It was so much slower without Blaine helping him. He'd only managed about half-way and now Kurt's human body was taking control again. He was getting exhausted and getting exhausted this far out in the ocean was deadly.

"Where are we? My legs and arms are tired I just want to sleep if only for a little bit."

"We're somewhere around Georgia, we're really turned around here. Bl-I mean they took us at least a good 100 miles out of the way."

Kurt wanted to keep going, he really did but he was so tired. His body was so heavy and he just wanted to rest, at least for an few hours.

"Don't fall asleep. Come on! Kurt, wake up! Open your eyes." Pavarotti watched as Kurt's body went limp with overwhelming exhaustion, floating atop the water. The least Pavarotti could was try to drag him to the shade and make sure he didn't turn over and breathe in water. The small fish was about 90 percent positive the prince wouldn't drown but he couldn't be to cautious.

-o-o-o-

The boat pulled into the marina a medic meeting them immediately. "Found the kid just floating around out there. His body is ice cold but he seems to be breathing. God only knows how long he's been out there," the fisherman said, helping the medics move the boy. He had actually been further out in the ocean then legal but he wouldn't tell them that.

"It's a miracle his body shows no signs of dehydration or pruning. The salt should have had much more effect on him then this. Where'd you find him?"

"He was just floating there, about 10 miles out from Tybee Island." It was actually more like 15 miles out, but again, the legalities.

"He seems to be breathing, and his body seems to be still functioning. He might have gone overboard on a cruise ship. We'll airlift him to Atlanta and then put out a alert for family or friends," the medic told the fisherman. Carefully the man and two colleagues loaded the boy onto the stretcher to take him to the local hospital where he could be airlifted to Atlanta.

The doctor looked baffled at the X-rays and scans, it just didn't make sense. Besides a case of severe exhaustion the boy was perfectly healthy. He probably had missed a meal or two but other than that there was nothing medically wrong with him. What confused him was the scans of the child's lungs. It was truly a conundrum. Immediately he called up his friend from the marina and asked if is he could catch a red-eye out him. The doctor was annoyed but asked what was so intriguing. "I think you might have been right about those mermaid fantasies of yours." The other man didn't waste a second more.

When he arrived he practically ran to his old college friend's office. He burst through the doors, hair completely ruffled and clothes mussed. "You better not have just played a cruel joke on me Martin," was the first roads out of his mouth.

"No, Anthony, I did not, come over here and look at this," he motioned the other man over to the computer screen. Anthony hurried over looking over Martin's shoulder. "The boy was found about 10 miles out from Tybee Island according to the reports. No signs of dehydration or wrinkling commonly seen in floaters like this. His body was completely cold, roughly 62 degrees Fahrenheit, when he arrived. His body should have succumbed to hypothermia or worse, he should be dead, but he is still very much alive. I ordered scans and X-rays done to make sure there was nothing internal wrong and I found this in his lungs," he brought up the scans on his computer zooming in on what he saw.

"Developing gills?"

"Not a drop of water in his lungs, and I saw that. I thought it was impossible but then I remembered a similar case some 20 years ago, we studied it in Orlando's class."

"Yeah, I remember. I was the only one that thought of mermaids. Orlando failed me saying that was no more than a myth, but right now we're seeing a real life case. This boy is in the developing stages of his mutation. How about his eyes? Did they have the thin fish like filament?"

Martin shook his head. "Looks like it's developing slowly in the corners of his eyes but not a clear coat. No signs of scaling either. The boy has to be about 18 give or take."

"I want to see him," Anthony husked, eager to see the boy that was little doubt a merman in transition. Martin nodded leading his colleague to the room where the mysterious boy was held. The doors slid open and Anthony's eyes widened. Since that day in class he'd poured himself into mermaid lore, he could possibly be accused of knowing to much, and this was not what he was expecting. Atlantis' prince. The only son of Princess Elizabeth, this was not good.

"We've tried to get an ID on him. A boy went missing up in Myrtle Beach about 3 weeks ago, we think it might be him."

Anthony gulped think rashly. Grabbing the nearest object he smacked Martin upside the head, easily knocking the doctor unconscious. Quickly he unhooked the tubes and heart monitor from the young boy, the boy stirring slightly. "Come on, we're getting you out of here."

"Tired," he muttered, getting up none-the-less. Anthony led the boy discreetly as possible out of the hospital. Fortunately, no one paid much attention to doctors taking patients outside. The records were all under John Doe so there was no need to worry about those, but he could always hack in later and delete them out. He reached his rental car helping the boy inside before rushing to the driver's seat. He was sure by now someone would have noticed Dr. Martin and the missing patient, the hospital would lock down in a matter of moments.

"Myrtle Beach, right?" Anthony asked, turning on his GPS after starting the car. The boy nodded, resting his head against the car window in sleep. Putting the car into drive he tore out as fast as he could, the guards already heading into the lots to look for him and the patient. His eyes shifted to the GPS which was thankfully telling him to simply take 20 all the way up. It was a six hour drive, but he'd have to make it non-stop, he had no choice.

Kurt stirred, looking about only to find himself in a car speeding down the highway. "Where am I?"

"Don't panic, your highness, I'm taking you back to Myrtle Beach."

"What did you call me?" Kurt asked looking at the man in white.

"You are the prince, correct? Princess Elizabeth's son?"

"Not another one," he groaned. How did these people keep finding him.

"I'm not a merman," Anthony clarified. "I just, know a lot more than I should. I've spent the better part of my life studying mermaids, tracking them. In all my years I've only been able to catch glimpses of Atala and Elizabeth. Never once have I seen Marianna, but you look like what I've seen of Elizabeth."

"So you took a guess?"

The man blushed, scratching the back of his head. "Kind of. But you're almost 18, right? If the legends are right you'll die if you don't find Princess Elizabeth's seashell. I can't really read mermish but I know there's more details in there somewhere. Luckily you're still in the early stages of the transition, I'd be really screwed if you didn't understand English. Then again you grew up on land, didn't you? So you would understand English, you haven't been in the sea like so many others. Well, you can probably still speak mermish, no doubt, you might be able to read it too," the man rambled, switching lanes. Kurt sighed, choosing to tune the man out. Anthony reached over towards his bag between Kurt's feet making the boy jump.

"What are you doing?"

"In my bag there's a book of mermish script," he muttered, looking between the road and his bag.

"You drive, I'll get it," Kurt glared, glad when the man pulled away.

"It's a blue folder."

Kurt pulled it out, looking at it skeptically.

"I've picked up mermish script from wherever I could. Anywhere along the shorelines, even as far as California."

"You're pathetically obsessed," Kurt deadpanned.

"Just slightly. Can you read it?"

Kurt flipped it open, surprised he could read the symbols within as if it were written in English. Anthony looked over at him eagerly, eye wide. "What does it say?" he question, almost manically.

"Brent was here," he read off. "Peace to all humans, love Stanthia. Pacific Coast represent, Pyronth all the way, take that Alantians. The whole page looks like stuff you see in bathrooms," Kurt told him, not impressed.

"Well that one is useless. How about the next page?"

"More bathroom scribble. 'Long live Elizabeth' 'Long live Marianna'….nothing that's of use to me." Though he couldn't stop himself from smiling at the ones that declared his name. Nice to know everyone wasn't waiting to betray and backstab him. He still didn't understand. Why had Blaine been so kind to him if he was just planning to betray him? Why had Blaine flirted with him? Had it all been a game. "What's this?" Kurt asked, stopping his train of thoughts at the words 'the trade of life'. "A mermaid can trade their life for one of a human? Through kissing a mermaid can transfer their life to a human, the human then sprouting the fins of a fish and the mermaid taking on human legs. However, the mermaid will quickly suffocate on land. The change is not permanent but a cruel method disguised as a act of true love. Both mermaid and human will die two days after the trade. The only way to survive the trade is to….."

"Is to what?" Anthony asked. This was what he had been wanting to here.

"Is for both parties to be merpeople? One mermaid can transfer their own fins to a transition, however, neither change is permanent. To make it permanent the one inciting the change must either give up their life or lock their soul and memories in a stone. The stone can only then be broken by the one who holds the heart. What does that mean?"

"You're guess is probably better than mine. I'm a land-breather after all," Anthony chuckled.

"Hold the heart? Heart of what? The ocean? A literal heart?"

"Perhaps the heart is not a heart at all, but something more metaphorical. Attention? Affection? Perhaps love even?"

"Love. The one who holds the heart, meaning the one the mermaid loves. Their true love. How Disney can you get?" Kurt laughed.

Anthony smiled at the boy, wondering what he would look like once he turned. Then again, he'd know soon enough.

-o-

They pulled up to the beach, storm clouds overhead pouring down rain. The tide had risen to the boardwalk, angry waves pouring over. Spectators stood watching in disbelief of the situation. A lone woman stood out among the waves, her light brown hair blowing viciously, her blue eyes narrowed in hate. From head to toe the woman was completely nude. Her mouth remained closed, merely eyeing over them.

"Dad!" Kurt yelled, spotting the balding man amongst the crowd. Burt turned with wide eyes running to his son, grabbing in a tight hug.

"Thank god I thought I had lost you, kid," he cried, hugging his son tightly. The rest of Kurt's friends rushed to him, hugging him in turns, wetting his hospital shirt with tears.

"What's going on?" he asked, spotting the massive hurricane sized storm around them.

"That woman," Finn yelled over the howling wind. "Just suddenly appeared and all this stuff started. The water rose unbelievably fast and a couple of people got pulled under but they can't send rescue crews out. It's to dangerous."

"Nice gown, Hummel," Santana laughed, pulling on the tacky hospital garb. Kurt looked out to the raging waters the woman's lips turning up in a vicious smirk.

"Nephew!" she declared, everyone watching covering their ears at the loud screeching sound. "I thought I could wait, but unfortunately I can not. Father has become suspicious so now I must kill you here. But first…"

"Wh-What's going on?" Brittany called in surprise as her body moved of it's own accord towards the ocean.

"Time to return to the depths dear niece. As promised you will be returned to your mother, but I can't promise you'll be alive when she finds you."

"Brittany!" Artie and Santana called, rushing after the blonde to stop her. They were halted in their tracks as a strong gust of wind pushed them back. The blonde cheerio walked to the boardwalks edge, people rushing to stop her only to be pushed away by the same wind. Without a word the blonde dove in.

"Brittany!" they yelled, running to the edge, trying to see where she'd gone.

Suddenly she reemerged from the tumultuous waters, a man holding on to her. "Careful now, princess."

"You're a mermaid! SEE? I TOLD YOU MERMAIDS EXSIST!" Brittany yelled, pointing to the man holding her.

"Blaine!" Kurt yelled. Why was he here? Going to pull him under and finish him off like Marianna wanted. "Bring Brittany back up."

"Sorry, your highness, I can't. Brittany's stone broke," he answered, showing the stone now broken in half. He let go of Brittany the girl falling under the waves.

"Brittany!" Santana yelled, ready to jump in. "I don't know what that fucked up screeching is but I don't care. We have to save Brittany."

"Atala has taken the girl," Marianna glared. "Fair enough. Blaine, bring me the prince and then I will grant you what you wish. Your dear brother."

Blaine looked up at Kurt helpless. "Kurt, I'm sorry."

"Your life, or the lives of the humans, take your pick, little prince," Marianna sneered, leaving Kurt no choice. He turned to his father, hugging the man tightly.

"I'm sorry dad." The next person he hugged was Finn. "Sorry I gave you such a hard time all the time and tell Carol I love her like a mom." He turned to Mercedes giving her a big hug, before doing the same with Quinn. When he felt like he was sufficiently hugged out he jumped into the water before any of them could stop him. Blaine immediately dove under, catching him and helping him to surface above the heavy waves.

"Kurt! Kurt!" Burt yelled, everyone holding him back from jumping in.

"Pavarotti was right," Blaine started. "I was lying. When you caught me I panicked, Marianna has my mother and she won't free her till she has you."

"Then why didn't you just tell me."

"I couldn't bare for you to know the truth. You'd think horrible of me and wouldn't have followed me. My brother Parker has been safe in the Pacific with my father for many years. I dedicated my life to serving Marianna in hopes she would free my mother. I'm sorry."

"Hmph. No you're not, you did what you thought was right. Besides it's not like I have on a crush on you or anything."

Blaine laughed. "Well I hope you do or what I'm about to do will be completely worthless."

"What do…" he was cut off by Blaine's lips covering his owns, faint yells from the pier made him roll his eyes. He was seconds away from death and all Puck could yell was 'get some'. A wave washed over them and Kurt felt it instantly. His legs seems to snap together, something cold and sticky crawling up them. Slowly the wet situation moved up and up till it stopped at his waist. His eyes opened under the water, immediately taking in the clear view of the darkened water. This time he was the one having to help Blaine, as he struggled to break the surface.

"You insolent child, what have you done?"

Blaine smiled at Kurt, kissing his forehead. "My mother has my stone, I hope this works and you don't let me die."

"Wait, what did you just-?"

Blaine laughed, pulling off an earring Kurt hadn't seen him wearing previously. "Your shell."

"Y-you…"

"Took it off Brittany. Now your change will be permanent, your highness."

"Blaine…."

"I wasn't lying when I said I've been in love with you before I even met you. Crazy, maybe a bit obsessive, but…."

Kurt couldn't stop himself from kissing the other male, ignoring, for a moment, the current situation. "Get to the boardwalk before you drown."

Blaine laughed, doing just that, pushing against the waves to get out of the water that was now his enemy. Kurt dove under the water, having no time to marvel over his new tale of blue and green, instead he swam; swam in the direction he felt was right. Marianna cursed, falling into the water, returning to her true form, speeding after her nephew. "I won't allow you to make it to Atlantis alive."

"Watch it, mermaid! I don't like you," Trigger snarled, getting in Marianna's way. "You messed up my home now you got to pay."

"You dare speak to me that way you insolent tiger shark?"

Trigger snapped at her. He wasn't dumb. She got her way no fish but merpeople would get rights. Sharks would become slaves. Like hell he'd become a mermaid's slave.

Kurt looked back at the shark, thankful he was blocking the way for now. He just needed to keep going, just keep swimming the way his heart was telling him.

-o-o-o-

"I'm Blaine," Blain introduced himself to the group, not sure whether to shakes hands or bow like they did under the water or what.

"What did you do to my son?" Burt asked the half-nude boy who was given a towel to cover his waist.

"Gave him my tail, in a nutshell. He's got two days to find my stone, break it, or I die. Well I die if he doesn't hold my heart and breaks it as well, but I'm hoping Kurt holds my heart."

"Dude, you were a fish," Finn pointed out.

"Yes. Half-fish actually, but unlike Kurt, I wasn't born on land I was born in the sea. So you humans must show me human things," he smiled. The group jumped as a loud sonic boom resonated through the air, the water miles out shooting out. "She plans to kill him before he can get to Atlantis. I probably don't have any of my magic left to help him either," he lamented. There was no way to help Kurt without his magic and Kurt wouldn't know how to use his own. "VOICE!" Blaine exclaimed. "Can any of you sing?"

Rachel scoffed. "Can I sing? Of course I can sing. I'm the best…."

"No offense, but I don't need a life story. Her highness Elizabeth's gift is her voice and Kurt no doubt has that same gift. Just, follow me, and sing." It was stupid he knew, but if his voice could reach Atlantis, the merpeople would no doubt know what was going on. They'd be able to get to Kurt in time. The little bit of magic he had left was sure to help him in getting the humans to understand.

"Can you still see your dreams in the distant, starry sky? Are they more vivid than they were when you were little?" he sang out. His magic took over from there, giving the humans around him the ability to know the words to the mermish song.

"When one forgets to put the emotions that overflow in her heart to rest, they burn the color of passion.," they began singing, the sounds beginning to drift down the boardwalk as more and more people joined in. "I used to believe without a doubt that I could reach my dreams, no matter how far off they were. But that me from long ago now sleeps inside my heart."

It was loud, melodious with the small bit of magic that swirled around them. Surely Elizabeth would here her lullaby. Surely she would know.

-o-

"Dreams are more fragile and fleeting than a glass rose, so then why are we destined to dream?"

Elizabeth jerked upright at hearing the familiar words of her own song. Who was singing?

"Sometimes two dreams can turn into love, but there are also times when they can't." The song continued and she closed her eyes, stretching her senses to see where it was coming from. The fish of the scene were still, staring up into the sky. The people of her kingdom were still, listening to the words as they flowed through them.

"Even when they're alone, people want to share their feelings, but it can be so hard. Words are powerless to express one's feelings, and sometimes they become a silver knife."

Blaine. That was Blaine's very faint magic signature. He was compelling the humans to sing, but why.

"I used to believe without a doubt that I could reach my dreams, no matter how far off they were. But that me from long ago now sleeps inside my heart.," a new voice added to the humans. A mermish voice.

"Kurt!" she cried out, shooting from her room and swimming as fast as she could, following the song. Her son! Her son was in the ocean. He was a merman, but not by the shell. Something was wrong, she had to get to him.

-o-

"Stop that incessant singing," Marianna yelled, shooting another bolt of electric energy towards the boy. Kurt narrowly dodged it, rolling over to his back and swimming as fast as he could. He felt slightly off balance not a use to his fins, but he felt he was doing an adequate job of evading his homicidal aunt.

The next bolt came towards him only to go off path, striking a large rock.

"So, Your majesty," Wes called, appearing in between Kurt and Marianna, David along with him. "I can't betray Blaine. He's my friend, and he's more likely to protect me than you are."

"You children dare turn on me?"

"The song is waking a lot of us up," David called. "Telling us you're wrong, we all have been. Her highness Princess Elizabeth should be on the throne."

"Your Highness, we apologize for the inconvenience," Wes bowed. "Go find Blaine's stone so the idiot can come back home."

Kurt stared at them in disbelief before giving them a brief thanks, swimming off once again. He just had to keep swimming. Keep swimming. Keep Swimming.

"Kurt," a familiar but dream-like voice called out. "Kurt!" There it was again. He swam in the direction of the voice, wanting to hear it more. "Kurt!"

"Mom?" he called, seeing a figure swimming towards him. The woman came into view and Kurt couldn't help but spastically swim towards her, trying to stroke against the water causing him flap against the water around him. She laughed before wrapping her arms around her teenage son, hugging him closely.

"Kurt," she whispered, not believing she was holding her baby boy in her arms again. Kurt hugged his mother back, taking in her scent of flowers and algae, very distinct even under the ocean water. He pulled back staring at her, her appearance not having altered much since the last time he'd seen her 10 years ago. She smiled at him, stroking his cheek lovingly. "My baby boy."

"How sweet, to bad I'm going to have to take your Kurt away from you," Marianna taunted.

"Kurt, go! Once you're in Atlantis she can't touch you. The barriers will protect you," Elizabeth ordered.

"But mom, what about you? Wes? David?"

Elizabeth could see the two injured boys ahead. She closed her eyes, a sand wall surrounding her sister. From inside lightning sparked, trying to break through the mixture of salt, water, and sand. "Take them and go! Find your grandfather, tell him to strip us of our powers!" A angered scream came from the barrier, the lightning becoming more persistent.

"What?"

"Do it!" she pulled her son close, kissing his forehead. "Tell him these words, 'The sisters three, their magic divided, I take it upon myself.' Just like that, understand?"

"Mom?"

"KURT! GO!"

He had no choice, he rushed to Wes and David to help them. David was barely conscious but enough so to help the severely injured Wes. The boy was bleeding out rapidly from his tail, the water around him dark red. Kurt took off, staring at his mother until she disappeared from his sight, then he had nothing to look for other than the kingdom of Atlantis.

Elizabeth watched her son till he disappeared, immediately dropping the sand wall. Marianna glared at her sister. "Using your own son as the host, he'll die, and you know it."

"No, Kurt is stronger than that. All I have to do is stop you from getting to him, dear sister."

-o-o-o-

Just had Blaine said, the palace was not shimmering jewels or pearls but it was beautiful. It was nothing but rock, mud, seaweed, seashells and any human junk that could be found, but it was beautiful it with it's spiraling torrents and large archways. Each home was small on the floor just enough for a mermaid or two, some homes bigger to accommodate families. It might not have been glamorous but it was beautiful.

Merpeople rushed to him upon their interest, yelling for medics. Wes was taken away, David falling close behind with a second set of medics. "Your highness," a mermaid bowed. "The king awaits your presence."

Kurt looked over the green-tailed mermaid. All the mermaids he had seen so far had two colored tails so why was her just a plain green? He voiced as much as he followed her up to the palace. "I am but a servant, my lord. Only those born to nobility have two colored tails. Those born to royalty have three tones in their tails, like yourself."

"So that means Blaine is a noble," Kurt whispered, remembering Blaine's tail of blue and red.

"Blaine? Yes, your highness, his family was stationed to take over in the event your own could not. But when it was announced that master Blaine wanted to wed you there was much rejoicing. Blaine's father is the king of Pyronth. A marriage between the princes would end all bad blood between the Atlantic and the Pacific."

"I thought Blaine's mother is…."

"She is, sire," the mermaid whispered, as if this was great gossip. "A noble of Atlantis bore the child of the King of Pyronth, not one child but two. With no heirs Marianna and her sisters stood to lose everything, but then your highness was bored one year after master Blaine and…"

"Enough, Claudia," a booming voice called through the space. A merman descended from the darkness, his appearance being that of no older than 20. His hair was shoulder length and a healthy brunette color, his eyes tri-colored quite like Kurt's own. His tail was dark blue with violets and green streaking through out it. He smiled kindly at the boy, dismissing the servant girl. "So you are my elusive nephew, the one that is causing so much turmoil between my daughters."

This was his grandfather? Would Kurt look this fantastic when he got older? If so being a merman definitely had it's perks. "Mom told me…she had a message…"

"Yes, child?"

"The sisters three, their magic divided, I take it upon myself," Kurt repeated, the King's eyes widening.

"Are you sure this is what she said?"

Kurt nodded, he was not dumb he could remember a simple sentence.

"Then it is done," he whispered grimly. Kurt had no time to process what the statement could mean as his body began to burn. He screamed in pain, hugging himself as a fire hot pain shot through his entire body.

"Make it stop!" he cried, wanting to rip open his own skin to make the pain stop. It hurt. It burned, like liquid lava was replacing his own blood. But soon it stopped and was replaced with an entirety different pain as something new darted through his blood, causing him to scream louder at the vast change.

"And so, it will be," the king said, watching as his grandson screamed in pain. Experience the absorbing of his families magical force. If the boy lived through this, there was little doubt in the things mind the boy was meant to rule.

-o-o-o-

"Blaine! Blaine! Blaine!"

"Pavarotti? What's going on down there?" he questioned the rainbow fish. Everyone stared at him like he was crazy for talking to a fish, but they didn't understand.

"Marianna and Elizabeth are locked in battle, and it's sending tremors through the ocean. Wes is severely injured but he's in Atlantis with David."

"Kurt, what about Kurt?"

Pavarotti looked down.

"Pavarotti!"

"Elizabeth made him…." the fish looked down again, not wanting to say.

"Made him what?"

"She made him the host, he's…."

"She did WHAT?" Blaine stood up, staring into the blue clear sky, no one was aware of what was happening beneath those now calm waters.

"What's going on?" Burt asked, noticing Blaine's sudden face of panic.

Blaine swallowed thickly. "Kurt…." he couldn't stop himself from punching the banister of the boardwalk, howling in pain.

"Whoa, Dude!" Finn yelled.

"What's wrong with Kurt?" Burt asked, now panicking.

"He's dying, slowly and painfully, if he hasn't succumbed yet."

-o-o-o-

Silence. That's all anyone could hear. Marianna knew she was done for the moment her magic was drained from her body, Elizabeth's own following suit. They had no choice but to return to Atlantis and receive the punishment that was sure to come. Only Elizabeth had not expected to see the body of her son, drifting just in front of her father, completely lifeless.

"Looks like your grand hope held no water," Marianna mocked.

"Kurt," Elizabeth whispered, swimming up to her son, running a hand over his hair.

"The boy lasted longer than expected but he succumbed. I'm sorry, Elizabeth," their father apologized.

"And our magic?" Marianna questioned. "The host did not survive meaning…"

"He survived long enough. Your magic is sealed inside him. The throne will be transferred to Claire and her son."

"You can't be serious!" Marianna glared. "No," she smirked. "Blaine made the trade, Kurt was his only hope of survival which means the boy will die leaving Claire with no heir, even you can not override the magic of the trade, father."

He nodded. "We will figure it out. Marianna for your actions, you will be exiled and made to spend 100 years locked inside Cyrus."

"Father! You can not be serious! I only did what was in the best interest of…"

"Yourself," he snapped. "You would see the kingdom destroyed if it did not bow to your wish."

Before she could get another word in she was gone, banished as her father had said. "Elizabeth, seek out Claire, she has the right to know of her son's fate."

When the mermaid was found and told of the situation she wept, knowing there may be no way to save her eldest son. "When he's stone appeared I knew what he had done," she whispered, turning the small rock over in her hand. "I haven't…I've waited so long to have Blaine again and now…."

"Blaine did what it took to return the prince to us. He is to be commended for this," the king told her. Claire nodded, looking at the limp body of the prince now laid out on a bed of seaweed and shells.

"I guess this belongs to him then," she smiled, placing the stone on his chest, using his hands to cover it.

Suddenly, Kurt sat up with a shuddering gasp, before his mouth opened in a ear-splitting scream.

-o-o-o-

Blaine looked up feeling a wash of cold swept over him. He was turning back, did that mean?

"AH!" The people around him screamed, covering their ears as they fell to the ground in pain.

Pavarotti looked at the humans wondering what they could hear that he could not. Blaine didn't understand this either but he knew something was severely wrong as the ocean began to stir, the sky darkening. Without a second thought he dove into the ocean, relishing the feel of his fins once again.

"What's going on?" Pavarotti questioned.

"I don't know, but something tells me we need to get to Atlantis and fast."

"On it!" Pavarotti nodded, zooming off into the ocean.

"Father," Elizabeth questioned, starring as her son let out a scream unheard to their ears.

"His body is rejecting the magic. The magic is reanimating him only to kill him again. It's cruel but this is what happens in some cases with sealing spells. He will die over and over, till the powers are unleashed upon the world."

"What does that mean?" Claire asked.

"We may not be feeling it under the water but he could be targeting humans, causing storms, tornados, hurricanes, tsunamis, a number of things. Yet we can do nothing to stop him. This will continue till the magic is gone."

"No," Wes spoke up, leaning on David. "I apologize your majesty, but I don't think his highness died. He needs a second. His body went into shock to protect him, to keep him alive."

"You are nothing but a tadpole, boy, you think you know more than I?"

"No, your majesty, but his highness sang below the water, just like her highness Elizabeth. That is a special gift that not even your majesty possesses, it shows he holds great potential. Not only that he won Pavarotti's love in a matter of days, when it's common knowledge Pavarotti dislikes all mermaids that outshine him."

"Not my fault I'm more fabulous than all you half-human fish put together," Pavarotti gloated, swimming up to them, Blaine hot on his fins.

"What's going on?" he questioned, able to guess the gist. When he was told the situation he looked to Kurt, who was falling back into slumber, mouth closed, now probably silent to the world above. Blaine swam over to the light haired boy, taking his hand into his own. His eyes widened. "He's not dead," he told the group.

"Or so you think…"

"No!" Blaine yelled, cutting the king short. "He's alive, in pain but alive. Kurt, can you hear me?"

The boy gave no answer, but Blaine find himself hearing the other loud and clear. Placing his forehead against the other merman's he placed his lips against his, murmuring. "With my lips I take what I gave, one and a half fold I share, take me as the host." With that he fell into darkness, joining Kurt in the abyss.

-o-o-o-o-o-

"Kurt! Hey, Kurt! Hurry we'll be late for Glee," Finn yelled to his step brother. Kurt turned to him with a bright smile, taking a long swig from his water bottle.

"Coming, I'll be there in a moment," he waved. Finn gave a shrug turning to run back inside the building. Once his step-brother was gone Kurt turned back to his tormentor who unfortunately found himself standing in a water puddle. "Mess with me again Karofksy I'll do much more than shock you, I'll electrocute you," he smiled. He hated to bully his bully back but Karofsky did not get the hint, so what was a little bit of scary. Besides he wasn't actually going to electrocute him. With that he turned and strutted off looking up at the clear blue sky. They really could use some rain. On cue storm clouds rolled in, pouring sheet upon sheet of water down upon Lima, Ohio. Much better.

Kurt entered the choir room to see everyone waiting, Brittany the only missing as she had transferred to a school in California. At least this was the story they were sticking with.

"So how was the beach guys?" Mr. Schue asked, smiling at his students. "Anything exciting happen?"

"Beyond Hummel almost drowning, nothing," Puck lamented. "Not a damn thing."

"It's the weirdest thing," Rachel spoke up. "We can't really remember what we did after the first night."

"We went to the HardRock and Planet Hollywood, remember, Berry?" Quinn poked in.

"I remember that, but I feel like there's holes. Something big happened and we can't remember it."

"Obviously it's not big if you can't remember," Kurt supplied, smirking at them all. The only person that would even faintly remember would be Finn and he made sure of that. They went through the normal routines of Glee club before school ended. Once the bell rang Kurt practically ran out to his car, happy to his see his escort waiting for him. He launched himself at the other male, kissing him like a lost lover.

"I've missed you as well, your highness," Blaine smiled, pulling Kurt into a secure embrace. "Are you ready to go home?"

"I have to take Finn home first, but after that I'm all yours," he answered.

Finn rolled his eyes complaining they would give him a toothache. Maybe Kurt had taken away a few of his other memories too in the process but, nothing that would harm the teen. Plus one less homophobe in the world was a good thing.

After going through the normal routine of taking Finn home and saying hello and goodbye to Burt, Burt giving his usual warning of being behaved while down there. Kurt smiled to his father. He had yet to let Burt in on the full extent of his role in Atlantis and that's the way he wanted it to stay. After a short drive to Indian Lake, both boys found themselves home in the ocean as they should be, tails and all. Blaine had saved him from the abyss, saved him from death and Kurt had done the same. They were special, their magic not their own but shared absorbed from Atlantis' three princesses, allowing them abilities never seen before.

By will they could travel land or sea, and could even return to the ocean from any body of water with just a thought. "Do you truly plan to continue in that human school?"

"You could always join me," Kurt sang, twirling through the depths of the ocean. Blaine caught up to him, grabbing him around the waist, pulling his closer, their tails wrapping around each other.

"The crown-prince of Atlantis should not be made to suffer in such a manner."

Kurt chuckled at his fiancé pushing away from the man. "Who are you calling 'crown-prince'? I am KING of Atlantis." He gave an elegant twirl through the water, his tail almost seeming to make a shimmering trail around him.

"My apologizes, your majesty," Blaine laughed, bowing low. "How can I make amends?"

"Anything to make amends?"

"You wish is my command, dear fiancé."

Kurt swam up to his lover, kissing him softly. "Come to human school with me."

"HA! He played you," Pavarotti cheered from the reef.

Blaine glared at the small fish before sighing. "Your majesty's wish is my command."

Kurt laughed, grabbing Blaine's hand and swimming off in no general direction. Besides, they had all the time in the world. After all, they were kings of Atlantis.

-The End-


End file.
